Country star Orville Peck has quickly become a singular force in the genre. Though he’s known for donning a mask, the South African-born singer is far from hiding his true self or shying away from his identity and sexuality.
His songs expand upon the storied and diverse history of country music, ranging from fiery outlaw country to impassioned, mournful ballads. His latest album, “Stampede,” continues his tendency to push the boundaries of the genre, featuring duets with musical icons such as Elton John, Kylie Minogue, Willie Nelson and Beck.
Peck said he found it creatively gratifying to collaborate with artists both in and outside the confines of country.
“It’s a great way to reignite that creative feeling around music because, once you’ve been doing it for a long time, especially if it becomes your career, we all get a little comfortable in our sound,” Peck told GBH’s Executive Arts Editor and The Culture Show host Jared Bowen. “I think this really challenged me, which was something I really needed at the time.”
Peck grew up listening to John, Minogue and Nelson. He said collaborating with them on his new album was “unbelievable.”
He said “Stampede” all started with a conversation he had with Willie Nelson, who’d heard that during Peck’s live shows he would cover Ned Sublette’s “Cowboys are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other.”
“[Nelson] said we should do it as a duet. His emphasis on it was that it was because he felt like it was an important statement. I believe he said 'It’s more important now than ever,'” recalled Peck. “... If you’re a gay country singer, you’re sitting on a tour bus with Willie Nelson and he’s asking you to do a duet ... about gay cowboys, I mean, my head exploded.”
Peck is a longtime performer. But while he says he’s happiest on stage, that lifestyle took a toll.
“I’ve been touring a long time, 18 or 19 years. And for the majority of that time, I didn’t even have somewhere to live. I used to be completely nomadic, essentially,” he said. “I’ve learned that I like time at home with my partner, and my dog, and my family.”
“Stampede” came after a yearlong break from music. Taking that time to enrich and enjoy his personal life has been good for his soul.
“I went and took a break, and I went to go figure out who I was if I wasn’t playing music ... and so I did a lot of work personally,” he added. “And on the tail end of recovering myself ... I was like, well, I want to get back to making music as soon as possible. And what could I do to meet that same challenge I’d given myself on that personal level?”
Peck strives to reflect the considerable diversity of country music, which has become, in his words, “homogenized” in the past few decades.
“If you look at the instrumentation, the aesthetic, the sound, it’s built off African instruments, Black historical music, Mexican clothing and culture, [country] is built of all these different things,” said Peck. “It’s starting to kind of return to its roots, I feel, with all these more diverse voices and people within country. Because it’s not something new, it’s actually remembering where it’s from.”
Peck wishes to use his platform as a proud, gay country singer to advocate for a community that is largely underrepresented in his genre.
“I hold a very dear and important responsibility towards the LGBTQ community and representing so many people in that way,” said Peck. “When I play red state country festivals and I’m probably the only gay person on the bill, if I can make some people feel comfortable and ... show them we’re the same and we have this thing in common, bring people closer together and educate them, that’s even better.”
To hear more from Orville Peck, listen to the full interview above. Listen to The Culture Show daily at 2 p.m. on 89.7.
